Veteran battling cancer gets final wish granted to feel tank's 'thunder of doom' once more
An Iraq War veteran who is battling stomach cancer has had his wish to fire one last shot from an M1 Abrams main battle tank come true.
Thirty-nine-year-old Jay Tenison, who has stage four cancer, said he wanted to feel the "thunder of doom" one last time - and the US Army made it happen.
It had reportedly been more than a decade since the former soldier had fired a round from a tank.
A post on X by the US Army Maneuver Center of Excellence said: "Armor veteran Jay Tenison, who is battling stage IV stomach cancer, is here to fire his final shot from an Abrams main battle tank.
"Jay's last wish was to feel the 'thunder of doom' from a tank one last time, and our soldiers are making it happen."
A video published online, which has reached more than 50,000 people, showed Mr Tenison approaching the M1 Abrams tank, which he was able to fire.
The Task & Purpose US military website reported that Mr Tenison fired the round at Fort Moore in Georgia.
The day before his wish came true, he spoke with a room of trainee soldiers about his 20-year career with the military.
During his time in the US Army, he served as an active-duty tanker and later as an engineer in the Army Reserve.
Task & Purpose quoted him as saying: "I was not prepared for the first boom when I fired my first round.
"That was every bit of what I remember from before and just as awesome - the thunder of doom."
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